July 9 Trade Deals Deadline 'Is Not Critical'

Stock prices got a boost around mid-day today when White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters during a briefing: “The President can simply provide these countries with a [trade] deal if they refuse to make us one by the deadline, and that means the President can pick a reciprocal tariff rate that he believes is advantageous for the United States and for the American worker.”

We've been observing and agreeing with the notion that the stock market rally since April 9 suggests that investors believe that the tariff issue will be mostly behind us by the end of the summer. On April 9, President Donald Trump postponed his April 2 Liberation Day reciprocal tariffs for 90 days. Today, that deadline has been rescinded.